Neo Frourio

The new citadel is a huge complex of fortifications dominating the northeastern part

of the city; the huge walls of the fortress dominate the landscape as one makes the trip

from Neo Limani ("New Port") to the city, taking the road that passes through the fish market. The new citadel was until recently a restricted area due to the presence of a

naval garrison, but old restrictions have been lifted and it is now open to the public,

with tours possible through the maze of medieval corridors and fortifications. The winged Lion of St Mark, the symbol of Venice, can be seen at regular intervals adorn-

ing the fortifications.

Ano and Kato Plateia Near the old Venetian Citadel a large square called Spianada is also to be found, di-

vided by a street in two parts: "Ano Plateia" (literally: "Upper square") and "Kato

Plateia" (literally: "Lower square").This is the biggest square in South-Eastern Europe

and one of the largest in Europe, and replete with green spaces and interesting struc-

tures, such as a Roman-style rotunda from the era of British administration, known as

the Maitland monument, built to commemorate Sir Thomas Maitland. Palaia Anaktora and gardens

Just to the north of "Kato Plateia" lie the "Palaia Anaktora" ( literally "Old Palaces"):

a large complex of buildings of Roman architectural style used in the past to house the King of Greece, and prior to that the British Governors of the island. Today they are

open to the public and form a complex of halls and buildings housing art exhibits,

including a Museum of Asian Art, unique across Southern Europe in its scope and in the richness of its Chinese and Asian exhibits. The gardens of the Palaces, complete

with old Venetian stone aquariums, exotic trees and flowers, overlook the bay through

old Venetian fortifications and turrets, and the local sea baths are at the foot of the

fortifications surrounding the gardens. A café on the grounds includes its own art

gallery, with exhibitions of both local and international artists, known locally as the Art Café. From the same spot, the viewer can observe ships passing through the nar-

row channel of the historic Vido island to the north, on their way to Corfu harbour. A

wrought-iron aerial staircase is also to be found, closed to garden visitors, descending to the sea from the gardens, and used by the Greek Royal family as a shortcut to the

baths. Rewriting history, locals now refer to the old Royal Gardens as the "Garden of

the People" . The old city and Pontikonisi

In several parts of the old city houses from the Venetian era are to be found. The old

city's architectural character is strongly influenced by the Venetian style, coming as it did under Venetian rule for a long period; its small and ancient side streets, and the

old buildings' trademark arches are particularly reminiscent of Venice. Of the thirty-

seven Greek churches, the most important are the city's cathedral, the church dedi-cated to Our Lady of the Cave ,Saint Spyridon church, wherein lies the preserved

body of the patron saint of the island; and finally the suburban church of St Jason and

St Sosipater ,reputedly the oldest in the island, and named after the two saints proba-bly the first to preach Christianity to the Corfiots. The nearby island, known as Pon-

tikonisi, though small is very green with abundant trees. Pontikonisi is home of the

monastery of Pantokrator it is the white stone staircase of the monastery that when viewed from afar gives the impression of a mouse tail which lent the island its name:

'mouse island'.

You can use your automobile and visit all the beaches around the island each one is unique with free access to quaint villages with narrow streets that are internationally

renowned and of course you must not forget to visit Achillion .

Achillion is a palace built in Corfu by Empress of Austria Elisabeth of Bavaria, also known as Sisi. Elisabeth was a woman obsessed with beauty, and very powerful, but

tragically vulnerable since the loss of her only son, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria in

the Mayerling Incident in 1889. A year later in 1890, she built a summer palace in the region of Gastouri , about ten kilometers to the south of the city of Corfu. The palace

was designed with the mythical hero Achilles as its central theme. Elisabeth spoke

Greek better than any of the Greek queens that were her contemporaries and she ex-pressed a desire to further immerse herself in the Greek culture.

The Naval Station of Corfu (NAutikos Stathmos KErkyras NA.S.KE.) is located at

the southeast bastion walls of the New Citadel (Fortress) of Corfu town. The

Naval Station’s position is visible from a boat’s sea side view as it nears and

passes the cape of the Old Citadel in Corfu enroute to the port of Igoumenitsa. Formerly, the New Citadel was on the edge of town but nowadays due to the ex-

pansion of the city the New Fortress fort is almost in the midpoint of the historic

center. Approaching by car is possible as well as parking in the Maritime region.

Access to the island of Corfu can be done by two ways. By air from several cities

in Europe or Greece because the airport of Corfu, Ioannis Kapodistrias is an inter-national airport and by sea from ports of Italy and the port of Patras only during

the summer months.

Ferry transportation is daily throughout the year at intervals of one hour to and

from the port of Igoumenitsa with an open or enclosed type of ferry, which travel

the distance of 18 miles in about 2 hours.

Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian

Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwest-

ern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is adminis-tered as a single municipality. The municipality includes the island Corfu and the

smaller islands Erikoussa, Mathraki and Othonoi. The principal city of the island

and seat of the municipality (pop. 32,095) is also named Corfu.

The princhipal building in the area of NA.S.KE. was constructed around 1850

during the British administration of Corfu .The third floor of the building was remodeled into apartments in 1993 and has been used as a summer resort by Naval

Officers of the Navy. It has 14 rooms, of which 4 rooms consist of 2 rooms with a common bath and 4

beds, 3 rooms which have 3 single beds and 7 rooms which have 2 single beds.

All rooms have a bathroom, air conditioning, a mini refrigerator and a 14’’ televi-sion.

Access to the third floor where the rooms are is from an external and an internal

staircase. There is no elevator. At the rear of the building there is a large terrace that is used as the restaurant and

the bar.

Memorable sightseeing attractions:

Old Town

The city of Corfu stands on the broad part of a peninsula, whose termination in the Venetian citadel is cut off from it by an artificial fosse formed in a natural gully,

with a seawater moat at the bottom, that now serves as a marina and is called the

Contrafossa. The old town, having grown within fortifications, where every meter of ground was precious, is a labyrinth of narrow streets paved with cobblestones,

sometimes tortuous but colorful and clean. These streets are known as kantoúnia ,

and the older amongst them sometimes follow the gentle irregularities of the ground; while many are too narrow for vehicular traffic. A promenade rises by the

seashore towards the bay of Garitsa , together with an esplanade between the city

and the citadel known as Spianada with the Liston arcade to its west side, where restaurants and bistros abound.

Palaio Frourio

The old citadel is an old Venetian fortress built on an artificial islet with fortifica-tions surrounding its entire perimeter, although some sections, particularly on the

east side, are slowly being eroded and falling into the sea. Nonetheless, the interior

has been restored and is in use for cultural events. The central high point of the citadel rises like a giant natural obelisk complete with a military observation post

at the top, with a giant cross at its apex; at the foot of the observatory lies St.

George's church, in a classical style punctuated by six Doric columns, as opposed to the Byzantine architectural style of the greater part of Greek Orthodox churches